Abstract
This investigation included the determination of some trace elements Zn, Cu, and Fe in the blood serum by flame-atomic absorption spectrometry after finding the optimum conditions for the estimation which involve the wave length, spectral band, lamp current, the burner width and the burner height.The concentration of zinc in the blood serum of the patients with hyperthyroidism was in the range of (0.596-0.681mg.l-1) which was lower than that of control concentration range (0.801-0.850mg.l-1) whereas for the patients with hypothyroidism was (0.601-0.748mg.l-1).The concentration of cupper in the patients with hyperthyroidism was higher range (0.93-1.12mg.l-1) than that of average concentrations in control (0.85-0.86mg.l-1) but decreased in the patients with hypothyroidism in the range of (0.77-0.83mg.l-1).The concentration of iron in the serum was increased in the patients with hyperthyroidism (0.97-1.03mg.l-1) and in the patients with Hypothyroidism (0.80-0.91mg.l-1) comparing with control concentrations (0.90-0.95mg.l-1).The concentration linear range was (4-0.5) mg.l-1 and correlation coefficient ( r ) was not less than 0.984. The statistical and other analytical results show that the relative standard deviation RSD% for trace elements (Zn, Cu, Fe) were (2.4, 1.5, 2.3) and detection limits were (0.0063, 0.0087, 0.0093)mg.l-1 respectively with percent recovery ranged between (95.0-100)%. The results obtained by this research give a good explanation for the spread of thyroid disease in middle and south of Iraq.